Alberta Lupins Eyed For Cosmetics

EDMONTON - May 1/07 - SNS -- Field trials in Alberta have confirmed the crop is agronomically suited to that province, says Alberta Agriculture and food pulse crop agronomist Ken Lopetinsky. More importantly, a local biotechnology company is keen to develop cosmetic and personal health care products based on the crop.

Lupin area in western Canada is small, as this crop has not been grown commercially. Alberta Agriculture reckons 46 acres were seeded in that province last year, and believes there is substantial growth potential for this crop in both food and feed applications. Although Alberta Agriculture's research began with the aquaculture feed market in mind, further investigation revealed there were food and other potential uses for the crop.

Lupin has a wide range of functionally active components that are found primarily in the seeds. Lupin is high in protein and that is what captured Ceapro's initial interest in this crop.

Ceapro Inc. is a Canadian growth-stage biotechnology company based in Edmonton. Ceapro's core technology is the extraction of functional, active ingredients from plants and other renewable resources. They add further value to their extracts by manufacturing medical and therapeutic products, and by supporting the use of their extracts in products for human and animal health.

In the area of cosmetics and personal-care, companies have become increasingly concerned by potential allergens associated with traditional protein extracts (e.g. wheat, soy, nuts, etc). Lupin protein, however, has unique functional properties, making it an ideal choice in cosmetic and personal health care formulations.

Using seed supplied by Alberta Agriculture and Food, Ceapro's sweet lupin peptide extract is produced without chemically modifying the protein, thereby producing an all natural extract. This extract will be launched worldwide in the spring of 2007. Using their patented processing technologies, Ceapro's scientists are currently investigating the potential for other added-value products from this new prairie crop.